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Kenya: Review of Elections Needed to End Violence

Released on 2013-02-20 00:00 GMT

Email-ID

303412

Date

2008-01-04 22:47:21

From

hrwpress@hrw.org

To

responses@stratfor.com

For Immediate Release

Kenya: Review of Elections Needed to End Violence

Government Should End Curbs on Peaceful Demonstrations and Press

(New York, January 4, 2008) - An independent investigation of the
presidential elections is needed to avert further violence in Kenya, Human
Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch urged the government to end
unnecessary restrictions on the media and peaceful assembly.

Kenyan and international election monitors have found widespread evidence
of vote-counting irregularities in the December 27 presidential poll in
which incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was deemed the winner. Human Rights
Watch called upon Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga to endorse -
and international governments to support - a transparent, independent
review with international participation of the tallying process,
accompanied by a clear timeframe to complete the review.

Human Rights Watch expressed concern about the violence ensuing after the
election and the government's heavy-handed response. Post-election
violence has wracked areas of Nairobi, Mombasa, Eldoret in the Rift
Valley, and Kisumu in Nyanza, among other areas. Media reports have cited
up to 350 deaths. Vigilante groups have targeted and attacked Kikuyu, the
ethnic group of President Kibaki. There have been horrific incidents,
including the burning of a church in western Kenya containing dozens of
Kikuyu, including women and children who had sought refuge there.

Opposition supporters have also been victims of the crackdown by the
security forces. Opposition protests, which have included violence and
looting, have been met with excessive use of force by the police and
military. The United Nations now officially estimates that the number of
Kenyans internally displaced by post-election violence is 180,000. Kenyan
authorities should ensure that all displaced persons and others in need
are able to access humanitarian assistance. Human Rights Watch also said
that an independent and impartial investigation into the post-election
violence was needed so that all those responsible are held accountable.

The government has banned live political broadcasting and protest rallies.
Human Rights Watch urged the Kenyan authorities to immediately lift
unnecessary restrictions on press freedom and peaceful assembly.

"The Kibaki government has responded to the violence with a military
crackdown and restrictions on protests as well as the press," said Gagnon.
"Political leaders in Kenya and concerned governments should unite in a
call for an end to violence."

Background

Kenyans voted peacefully and in record numbers in parliamentary and
presidential elections on December 27. In the parliamentary elections, 99
of the 210 seats were won by the opposition Orange Democratic Movement
(ODM). Vice-President Moody Awori, and 14 of President Kibaki's top
ministers lost their seats.

The presidential vote count appeared to be following the same pattern with
ODM leader Raila Odinga leading the count. However, in an abrupt
turnaround, the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) announced that Kibaki
was in the lead. The ODM and international election observers raised
concerns about poll numbers, which the government ignored. As protests
mounted, the electricity was turned off in the ECK election headquarters
and ECK commissioners were escorted by police from the building.
Immediately afterwards, ECK Chair Samuel Kivuitu declared Kibaki the
presidential winner with around 230,000 more votes than Odinga. The
government then broadcast on television a clip showing Kibaki being sworn
in at State House close to midnight in a hurried private ceremony.

The ECK chair was subsequently quoted in the media saying that he did "not
know whether Mr. Kibaki won the elections." He said he was "under
pressure" to announce a result quickly despite appeals by election
monitors to delay until apparent irregularities were investigated. Four of
his ECK colleagues also said they were "uneasy" with the presidential
outcome and admitted to "weighty" concerns about the process.

The European Union Electoral Mission expressed grave doubts about the
legitimacy of the presidential results. Immediately following the
election, it stated "the tallying process lacks credibility and ... the
Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) has not fulfilled its responsibilities
to create such a process." The EU mission reported "some irregularities
that cast a doubt on the accuracy of the final results that were
announced." The European observers cited Molo constituency, where 25,000
votes were fraudulently added to the tally sheet in favor of Kibaki.
Others have also reported fraud, including an elections officer who
admitted that election sheet returns have been doctored to favor Kibaki.
Other contentious issues include abnormal voter turnouts in the
strongholds of both Kibaki and Odinga, and the lack of access to EU
observers in some tallying centers, especially in central Kenya, Kibaki's
stronghold.

The Kibaki government has so far dismissed calls for an investigation,
telling the ODM to lodge any complaints with the courts. However, the
Kenyan judiciary is widely perceived as not being independent. The current
chief justice was present at the recent swearing-in ceremony of Kibaki.
Earlier in his term, Kibaki removed a number of senior judges - including
the then-chief justice - and replaced them with individuals viewed as less
independent.